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Tag: conviction

The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) announced that, on December 4, 2017, David Porter Wilson of Cobourg, Ontario, was sentenced to a fine of $97,173 after pleading guilty in the Ontario Court of Justice in Cobourg, Ontario, to two counts of income tax evasion.

In addition to the court imposed fine, Wilson will also have to pay the full amount of tax owing, plus related interest and any penalties assessed by the CRA.

A CRA investigation revealed that Wilson failed to report income that he earned as a commissioned salesperson for a marketing company, totalling $449,745 on his personal tax returns for 2006 and 2007, thereby evading federal income taxes totalling $97,173. While under investigation, Wilson left Canada, and after the charges were laid an arrest warrant was issued on September 7, 2011. Wilson did not return to Canada until August 9, 2017.

All case-specific information above was obtained from the court records.

The CRA takes tax evasion very seriously.

Tax evasion occurs when an individual or business wilfully ignores or disregards Canada’s tax laws. For example, those participating in tax evasion under-report taxable income or claim expenses that are non-deductible or overstated.

Those who do not fully comply with tax laws place an unfair burden on law-abiding taxpayers and businesses and jeopardize the integrity of Canada’s tax base.

For the five-year period of April 1, 2012 to March 31, 2017, the courts have convicted 408 taxpayers – This involved $122 million in federal tax evaded and court sentences totaling approximately $44 million in court fines and 3,103 months in jail.

If you have made an omission in your dealings with the CRA, made a tax mistake or left out details about income on your tax return, the Agency may give you a second chance to correct your tax affairs and avoid criminal prosecution.

The Voluntary Disclosures Program (VDP) may give you the opportunity to come forward, make things right, and have peace of mind. Disclosures that are made before the CRA launches an enforcement action such as an audit or criminal investigation may only result in you having to pay taxes owed plus interest. That being said, the VDP is currently under review. Changes were announced in the fall of 2017. More information on the VDP can be found on the CRA’s website at Canada.ca/taxes-voluntary-disclosures.

The CRA has set up a free subscription service to help Canadians stay current on the CRA’s enforcement efforts.

The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) has announced that James Harvey Cameron, from Calgary, was criminally convicted on March 28th of creating and operating a fraudulent RRSP scheme.

According to court documents, from 2002 to 2006, Cameron was the master-mind behind a fraudulent RRSP scheme through which he diverted $2.5 million of investors’ funds for his own use. He also failed to report the money as taxable income, evading federal taxes totalling $673,871.

The CRA considers these offenses serious, and the courts found Cameron guilty of tax evasion and fraud.

A date for a sentencing hearing has yet to be set, but is likely to take place between April 24 and May 12, 2017.

The CRA is encouraging victims of Cameron’s fraud who wish to appear at the sentencing hearing to seek restitution or make a victim impact statement to contact the Public Prosecution Service of Canada at 403-299-3978 by April 20th.

The CRA has reported that Herb Metcalfe, a former senior adviser to Stephane Dion and Liberal lobbyist has received a conditional sentence of two years less a day – including 12 months house arrest – for failing to report $1.4-million in payment and benefits between 2002 and 2006.

Mr. Metcalfe pled guilty to one count of income-tax evasion and was fined $396,259, which represents 100% of the total taxes evaded.

A CRA investigation focused on Mr. Metcalfe’s work as a director and employee of the Capital Hill Group Ottawa Inc., which the agency describes as “a political lobbying business.” He is no longer a member of this group – having stepped aside from the business.

The agency states that Mr. Metcalfe prepared his tax returns each year by hand and either knew, “or was willfully blind to the fact,” that the income he received was required to be reported on his returns.

“The Canada Revenue Agency pursues tax evaders to maintain public confidence in the integrity of the tax system,” said my former Director of the Toronto North Tax Services Office, Vince Pranjivan, who is now the CRA’s assistant commissioner for the Ontario Region.

The CRA issued a news release dated Nov. 18, 2015, outlining the fine and conviction. However the release did not immediately receive media attention due to public-service rules related to communicating during an election. Mr. Metcalfe was sentenced on September 30th, 2015 which was during the Federal election campaign, which meant the CRA posted the conviction on November 18th and at that time was able to notify the media.

On November 27th, 2015, the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) issued notice that Nicolet, Quebec resident and tax protester named Christian Lachapelle was sentenced to four years in prison by a Court in Quebec. Lachapelle plead guilty October 22nd, 2014 to charges related to tax fraud.

A Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) investigation revealed that, between June 2007 and November 2010, Mr. Lachapelle advised and enabled 93 individuals to avoid, or try to avoid, paying nearly $2 million in income tax for the 2003 to 2010 tax years.

The scheme used by Mr. Lachapelle consisted of helping or advising individuals to file income tax returns or request a reassessment using the distinction between a “natural” person and a “legal” person.

For some reason, tax protesters continue to attempt this avenue to avoid having to pay taxes and in doing so regularly convince others that this technique can be used when Canadian courts have repeatedly and consistently rejected such arguments.

This is not the first time that Mr. Lachapelle has had issues with the CRA and the law. He was sentenced to 30 days in jail in 2012 for failing to file his income tax returns despite a court order, as well as fines of $7,000 in 2005 and $14,000 in 2011 for the same reasons.

All case-specific information above was obtained from the court records.

The Canada Revenue Agency warns the public to beware of people who assert that Canadians do not have to pay tax on the income they earn. Canadian courts have repeatedly and consistently rejected arguments made in these tax protester schemes. For those involved in such schemes, the CRA will reassess income tax and interest, and charge penalties – usually Gross Negligence Penalties too which can represent at minimum 50% of the tax being evaded.

More information on tax protester schemes can be found on the CRA website, here: www.cra.gc.ca/alert.

If you have ever made a tax mistake or omission, you have the ability to correct this error through the Canada Revenue Agency’s Voluntary Disclosures Program (VDP).

You must make the full and complete disclosure before you become aware that the CRA is taking action against you, and if accepted, you may only have to pay the taxes owing plus interest (not penalties).

inTAXicating Tax Services exists to provide clarity and solutions for CRA questions and problems. If you think you have done something wrong, and the CRA might want to assess / re-assess / audit you or your company, you should check with us first.

The following news items was released by the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) on September 8, 2015, regarding a former Tax preparer from Vaughan, Ontario, who was convicted of Tax Fraud for adding fictitious deductions to 4,200 tax returns from 2003 – 2005. She was sentenced to 10-years in jail and fined almost $700,000.

The news release read:

“The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) announced today that Ms. Doreen Tennina was extradited to Canada from Italy on September 4, 2015, and is now in custody serving a 10-year sentence for tax fraud.

On May 31, 2013, Ms. Tennina was found guilty in the Superior Court of Justice in Oshawa, Ontario, on two counts of fraud over $5,000 under the Criminal Code and was sentenced in absentia to the maximum period of 10 years in jail on each count to be served concurrently. A news release publicizing Ms. Tennina’s conviction and sentence was issued on June 4, 2013.

Ms. Tennina, a former Vaughan, Ontario tax preparer, fraudulently claimed carrying charges and charitable donations totaling $58,500,000 in 4,200 tax returns prepared on behalf of her clients from 2003 to 2005, inclusive. The false claims reduced the amount of federal taxes owed by over $10 million. She was also ordered to pay a fine of $699,608 for causing her company, Executive Accounting, to fail to report income received from the tax evasion scheme.

The preceding information was obtained from the court records.

Taxpayers who claim false expenses, credits or rebates from the government are subject to serious consequences. They are liable not only for corrections to their tax returns and payment of the full amount of tax owing, but also to penalties and interest. In addition, if convicted of tax evasion, the court may impose jail time and fine them up to 200% of the tax evaded.”

Remember, taxpayers who have not filed returns for previous years, or who have not reported all of their income, can still voluntarily correct their tax affairs if the CRA has not contacted them first for the returns. If applicable, the Voluntary Disclosure Program (VDP) allows for filing / amended filing without penalty or prosecution provided the disclosure is full and complete. These taxpayers may only have to pay the taxes owing, plus interest.

Another example of how a Ponzi scheme can result in a long-prison sentence and huge fine.

Unfortunately, the “victims” here are the people who took part in this scheme because they still owe taxes plus gross negligence penalties (50%) plus the CRA and the Courts have long considered people who partake in these scams and schemes to have done so knowingly and with full understanding they they are illegal.

About inTAXicating

This is the blog for inTAXicating.ca

inTAXicating was created by Warren Orlans, a Canadian Tax Consultant and former Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) Employee of the Year who worked in the CRA for almost 11-years in their Collections Department.

inTAXicating provides expertise in the area of Tax Liability Solutions and assisting Canadians to understand how the CRA operates.

In order to provide you with the best Tax Solution services possible, we work with Mortgage Brokers. Tax Lawyers, Accountants, Bookkeepers and Insolvency Practitioners to ensure that you get the best experience during a difficult time as you fix your tax problems.